Panel-board fitting



e. B. THOMAS.

PANEL BOARD FITTING.

APPLICATION FILED 020.12, 1917.

1,374,123. Patented Apr. 5; 1921.

In ventor! Graves 5'. 77/0/1185 Be it known that I, GEORGE THonrAs, acitizen of the'United States of JAIDGIICQ,

' and residing. in .Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have v inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Panel-.BoardsFittings, of'which the following is a specification.

1 M invention relates to panel board fittings and particularly to fittings of the unit type, the; object of myinvention being to provide a unit with"a"-protective cover ing certain novel features of improvement hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying'drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a broken plan of a unit with cover plate'in'position thereon, but with the switch 'mechanism and its individual cap Fig. 2 isa'section on theline 2-2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isa vertical section on the line 3-3, Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a partial plan of a 'detall of the The present fitting comprises an insulat ing base 10 having the usual cross grooves for the reception of the'wire'mains l1 and 12, and end connections for the branch l1nes 13-14 and 15-16? The connection from the mains 11 and 12 to the res ective branch leads is made through fuses 1 and switches 18. The fuses 17 here shown are of the cartridge type having terminal contact th1m bles at their opposite ends which engage their respective terminals 19 and 20. The

usual telltale 21 is exposed at the centralportion of the fuse casing. From the fuse terminals 20, connections are made to the corresponding terminals 22 of the switch chamber, with which engage suitable straps (not shown) carried by the detachable switch mechanism, mounted upon the base 18. Inasmuch as this mechanism is of well known type, it is not illustrated in detail,

it suflicing to point out that the base 18 carries straps contacting with the terminals 22 and 23, thereby establishing connection through the switch to the branch leads 13 and 14. q

'The insulating base 10 is protected against mechanical injury, and the electrical parts thereof are insulated against accidental contact, by means of a cover 24 of the gPneral yr sh re .in-th By ine nd Lehane w n;

. Specification of Letters Patent.

' face of the latter.

PATENTS m n fa igtoiasgornmenromg commczrrcur, assrenon 'ro THE Barn-NT "nrnernrejconrm, ornmnenrom, connnc'rrcur, a'conronn'rron or con rumonn]; rnrnve.

T No. 1,195,778. In the present construction, however, the cover 24 and its insulating lining 25 areapertured at 26 in register with the telltales 21 of the fuses '17, so that while the termlnals on the base are covered, nevertheless the condition of the fuses may be readily observed without removing the cover. The cover is also apertured at 27 to permit the insertion and withdrawal of the v I Patented Apr. 5-, 1921. iplication ma December '12, 1917. Serial No. 206,792.

switch mechanisms 18, so that it is HIIIIGCBS.

sary to remove the entire cover in order to inspect, repair, or replace the switch. In the construction shown, the anerture 27 is closed, after the insertion or the switch mechanism 18, and the mechanism positlvely held in position, by a sheet metal cap plate 28 havlng downwardly angled margins and perforated at 29 to permit the swltch buttons 30 to pass therethrough. Slotted tongues 31 and 32 at the ends of the cap plate afford means for securing the cap to the cover 24. A screw 33 clamps'the slotted tongue 31, while the screw 34 enga 'es the tongue 32. The screw 34 serves the urther function of securing the cover plate 24 to the base'10, in a manner shortly to be, described. In order to indicate the particular destination of the branch leads 13 and 14, controlled by the switch 18, I provide the cap 28 with 'a sheet metal legend holder 35,

having tongues 36 passing through slots'in the cap and turned over beneath the inner This holderis open at one end and closed at the other, and is spaced above the surface of the cap 28 a sufli'cient distance to receive the strip 37 upon which the legend is written It is obvious that upon loosening the screws 33 and 34 and tilting the screw 34, it is possible to free the cap 28 and lift it without dis-' turbing the main cover plate 24.- This is a hlghly desirable feature, inasmuch as the unit 1s normally associated with others in, a

panel board installation, and'the cover 24 is held down by the overlapping flange 38 of a juxtaposed unit. Moreover, it permits access to the switch mechanism'without exviously mentioned, by'means of the screw 34. This screw'comprises ashank 39 of'reewt e e s-e threaded end 4 of greater diameter. Permanently-secured at the opposite ends of the base are tapped riv-- ets 41 into which the threaded end 40 of the screw takes. Inasmuch as there is apt to be some variation in the length of the orcelain base 10,'due to uneven shrinkage, provide the cover 24 with a tapped aperture 42, extended on each side b slots 43 in which the reduced stem 39 of t e screw works. It is obvious that after the end 40 of the screw has been passed through the tapped hole 42, the reduced stem portion 39 is free to work in the slots 43 and thus accommodate the position of the screw to moderate variations in the length of the base. This construction has the further advantage that the screw 34. may be tilted, as indicated in Fig. 1, to release the slotted strap 32 and thus permit the removal of the cap 28.

a I claim 1. A panel board fitting having a base chambered to receive a removable switch mechanism, a cover plate substantially coextensive with said base and apertured in re 'ster with said chamber in the base, a cap p ate overlying said aperture, said cap plate being provided with slotted end lugs, and screws clamping said end lugs to the cover. plate,

one of said screws being longitudinally dis-'- placeable in the cover plate to free the cooperating end lug of the cap plate without detaching said screw from the cover plate. 2. The combination with an apertured switch cover and a cap plate therefor pierced to accommodate switch operating means, of a legend carrier frame secured to the cap plate adjacent the piercings which accommodate the switch operating means.

3'. A panel board fitting unit having an insulating base, a tapped member carried thereby, in combination with a cover plate substantially coextensive with said base and apertured in register with said tapped member, and a screw passing through said cover plate and engaging said tapped member to hold the cover plate on the base, said plate having a slot of less diameter than the aper ture prolongin the latter to accommodate the screw shan in various positions.

4. A panel board fitting unit having an insulating base, a tapped member carried thereby, a cover plate-substantially coextensive with said base, a securing screw passing through said cover plate and taking into said tapped member in adjusted position, said screw having a thread at one end, a head at its other end, and areduced intermediate shank portion, the hole in the cover plate through which said shank passes being of such size and extent as to permit relative play between the screw and plate longitudinally of the fitting, while preventing the accidental escape-of the screw therefrom when ][detached from the tapped member on the ase. 4

5. A panel board fitting having an insulating base, a tapped member carried thereby, a slotted cover plate substantially coextensive with said base, said slot having a tapped enlargement substantially in register with said tapped member, in combination with a screw having a head overlying the plate, a tapped end screwing through said tapped enlargement of the slot, and an intermediate shank of reduced diameter passin freely through said slot in the plate.

11 testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

eEoRGE B. THOMAS. 

